This invention relates to assays for antibodies.
Kurtz et al., 18 Diabetologia 147 (1980), describes a radioassay for insulin and proinsulin antibodies in serum. Serum is contacted with .sup.1 2 5 I-labelled ligand (insulin or proinsulin) having "approximately 200,000 cpm/ml"; the resultant solution is incubated for 24 hours; bound ligand is precipitated with 15% polyethylene glycol; the precipitate is washed once with 12.5% polyethylene glycol; and the amount of label in the precipitate is measured to obtain a qualitative measurement of antibody present in the serum.
Palmer et al., 222 Science 1337 (1983), describes using the radioassay of Kurtz et al. to measure the levels of insulin autoantibodies in persons clinically diagnosed as having insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.